Intercellular cytoplasm transport during oogenesis of the moth midge, Tinearia alternata Say (Diptera: Psychodidae)

Polytrophic ovaries of the nematocerous dipteran, Tinearia alternata Say consists of several developmentally synchronized ovarioles each housing only one functional egg chamber with 15 nurse cells and an oocyte. At the early stages of previtellogenesis the nurse cells become polyploid and synthetically active. Their nuclei contain polytene chromosomes and prominent nucleoli. With the advance of previtellogenic growth the nurse cell cytoplasm is loaded with the growing number of ribosomes and contain perinuclear nuage material, mitochondria, electron dense bodies and aggregations of endoplasmic reticulum. All these organelles are transported into the oocyte thanks to the massive and rapid flow of the nurse cell cytoplasmic contents. Nurse cell-oocyte transport is mediated by actin cytoskeleton. Prior to the rapid cytoplasm transfer, F-actin network is associated with the nurse cell membranes while tiny bundles of microfilaments form actin baskets connected with ring canals. Nurse cells in Tinearia lack an extensive scaffold of radially oriented, F-actin bundles (cables) that would tether their nuclei in place, thus preventing ring canals from plugging. The way the nuclei are anchored to their central positions within the cells remains unclear. Towards the final stages of oogenesis nurse cells are almost devoid of cytoplasm and degenerate. Although their nuclei undergo dramatic morphological transformations, typical hallmarks of apoptotic pathway could not be clearly observed. Rapid ooplasmic streaming does not occur.